Fran
by ylemon
Summary: A beautiful woman comes to the Yard asking for help. New DI Nkata is only too happy to help but this case could mean trouble.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: A short story (no more than 2 or 3 chapters) with adult content but nothing graphic based on Elizabeth George's novels. Fran was inspired by the character of Phryne Fisher written by Kerry Greenwood (I've not read the books but I like the TV series).

* * *

I'll never forget how she looked when she entered the room.

She took my breath away.

She wasn't tall, around 5 feet 3, and slender but she filled the room.

She was wearing a summer dress that ended in a loose short skirt that flew around her as she walked, sandals with built-up heels and a straw hat. She looked as if she were going for a picnic in the countryside.

She looked around the room above her designer sunglasses and her eyes stopped on me. She watched me from head to toes, and I felt naked under her gaze. Which was certainly how she saw me. She seemed to like what she had before her eyes because she flashed me a bright smile and came to meet me.

'DI Nkata, I suppose? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sure I'll be in good hands with you.'

She gave me her hand to shake and I was surprised by the firmness of her handshake.

'Winston, we'll talk in my office.'

I looked up in surprise. How had I not noticed the DSI?! She was my height which meant she was a good head taller than my lovely visitor!

As I crossed the room, I noticed the amused look on the face of my colleague and friend, DS Barbara Havers. She gave me the eye and blew me a kiss mocking the flirting manners of the still unknown woman. I stuck out my tongue at her.

I followed them to Ardery's office. The contrast between the two women was stricking. Ardery's stiletto heels were clicking sharply on the floor in quick succession, indicating to everybody she was in charge and determined not to lose time. The other woman walked just as fast but in such a sensual way she made me think of a cat. Maybe I shouldn't tell you that but I couldn't take my eyes off of, well, you know, her bum as she walked in front of me. In my defense, I wasn't the only one. All the men we came across in the corridor looked at her with admiration. I could tell she enjoyed attracting their attention. She liked men. She liked them a lot. And that's why she was there. Two of her ex-lovers had died prematurely in the previous month. Nothing suspicious. Accidental deaths was the official conclusion of the coroner's inquest. But Lady Frances 'Call me Fran, Inspector' Clifford-Haynes didn't buy that. So when a third lovers of hers disappeared she came to New Scotland Yard and the case ended on the desk of the newest inspector of the CID, yours truly.

It turned out Fran was a free spirit. Rich beyond imagination she didn't work and spent her time socializing and living the _dolce vita._ She wasn't inactive, though, she chaired on the boards of several charities - all of them fighting for women's rights and child protection - and she loved sports: ski in the Alps, scubba-diving in Seychelles, trek in New Zealand. She could pilot a plane and she drove around - really fast - in a sport cabriolet. She was a strong free woman who enjoyed life and its many pleasures and had no wish to settle down and start producing heirs as was expected of a woman of her social class.

In Ardery's office, she took off her sunglasses and her hat and I could see her better. She was older than me, probably in her mid- to late-thirties. Her black hair were cut short and she had beautiful grey eyes. Her lips were painted a bright red that contrasted with her fair skin. Her lips were full, inviting and I wanted to kiss them. No wonder she had numerous lovers. What man could resist her?

She was disarmingly frank about her love life. Men, or more exactly sex, was her favorite hobby and she engaged in it frequently and passionately. She was on excellent terms with all her lovers, past and present.

'Do they know your relationship isn't exclusive?' I wanted to know.

'Of course. I am perfectly clear about my intentions, Inspector. I'm all for the one-night stand. Sometimes, if I had a really good time, I would want to see a man more than once but I'm not looking for a long-term relationship, the wedding, the children...It's not for me. I've never found a man so exceptional I'd want to be his and his only.'

'No feelings involved, then?'

'I wouldn't say that. Some of them are truly special and I feel a deep tenderness for them. I certainly wish them well. Which is why I'm not satisfied with the coroner's conclusion. One can lose a lover, eventually two, but three? In a month? Someone's killing my friends, Inspector, and I'm not going to seat on my hands while this happens.'

'Why come to New Scotland Yard and not to your local police station?' the guv asked.

'It was an idea of the Commissioner,' Fran replied matter-of-factly.

Ardery raised an eyebrow.

'The Commissioner? The Met's Commissioner?'

'Yes. He's a friend of Father's. I talked to him over dinner last night, and he said to come around and talk to CID.'

 _Oh God_ , I thought, _she's the very aristocratic friend of the big boss._ If I screwed up that case, that'd be the end of my young and promising career. I wished Lynley were here. DI Thomas Lynley was the one who dealt with that sort of case normally, his being Lord Asherton and all that. But Lynley was in Scotland. He had been invited there by retired DI Angus MacPherson to try his hand at salmon fishing and was at that very moment either waist-deep in a river a fishing-rod in hand or nursing a very fine whisky.

'Supposing someone's targeting your ex-lovers, how many potential victims are we talking about?'

Fran opened wide round eyes and I drowned in them.

'I don't know. Eighty? A hundred? No, probably more.'

I must have looked shocked because she added with the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen: 'I started young.'

Ardery, impervious to Fran's charm, was bringing the meeting to its conclusion.

'We need a list with their names, contact details and possibly a photo. For the moment no need to go back too much in time, we'll focus on the men you met in the last twelve months. DI Nkata, you're in charge. Form a team and start working on that case immediately.'

'Can I work with DS Havers?' If this was going to be my only case as a DI, I wanted to have a friend by my side. 'Lynley's up North so he won't miss her.'

'Lynley will be back at work tomorrow; MacPherson broke an ankle on slippery rocks so he shortened his holidays; but you can work with Havers. Theirs is not an exclusive relationship either.'

There was enough venom in her voice to kill half a dozen Havers and a couple of Lynleys too.

Fran discreetly cleared her throat - she had exquisite manners.

'I was wondering, Inspector Nkata, if you would like to see the videos. Would it help you?'

I couldn't believe my ears.

'Videos? You mean you filmed your, er, encounters?'

She looked slightly - oh, so slightly - embarrassed.

'They are souvenirs.'

'And you'll let us watch them?'

'If it can help you, yes. I'd do anything to help you protect my friends.'

That's why the following day I sat in one of the video rooms with Barbara. Fran had handed us four cardboard boxes full of videos, some on VCRs, most of them on DVDs - did she remaster the films? - and we had formed two teams to watch them. Our intention wasn't to watch them in full but long enough to identify the man, snap a good photo of him and then fast-forward to the end to see if he and Fran had parted friends. Barbara and I settled as comfortably as we could, which was not much a police video room having more in common with your usual classroom than a fancy cinema. We switched off the main lights, keeping just enough light for Barb to take notes if needs be, then I picked a DVD at random and put it in the DVD player. Its content lived up to our expectations: my lovely female Casanova and a man having a very good time together. We did as planned, took a photo of the man's face and fast-forwarded to the end of the film, which didn't last long anyway - the guy had no stamina much to Fran's disappointment it seemed. That's when we had our first surprise. Immediately after that film, another one started who starred only Fran. She sat directly in front of the camera in a silky négligé and she commented what had happened. She reviewed everything from her partner's attributes to his skills; from the duration of the act and the number of times they made love to the attention he paid her. Her review was so lively and funny that Barb and I thought that was the best part of the video. All the other videos were done in the same way: first the sex scenes and then Fran's review in which she gave a kind of note to her lover going from zero to five stars. Barb and I were watching our fifth video and Fran was complaining about her latest lover - 'Just because you're big doesn't mean you're good! No technique at all. I put half a star for Nature's gift to you and that's all. A complete waste of time...' - when Barbara had a sudden flash of realization. She squatted near the cardboard boxes and rummaged through the DVD cases.

'What are you doing?' I asked.

I was in charge of this investigation after all, it was my role to manage the team.

'I wonder...Look!', she held out a DVD case in front of me, 'On all the cases there are two series of numbers and some stars.'

'Yes, and the first series is the date of the recording and the stars the guy's note. We already understood that.'

'And the other series of numbers?'

'Dunno.'

'Look,' she put several cases under my nose, 'there all in the same range, there are differences but not that much. It can't be coordinates; it's not phone numbers. I was wondering if Fran isn't assessing her lovers' size.'

'What!'

'The guy we've just seen, he's well endowed, right?'

I hesitated a bit. Call me prudish if you want but I don't like to talk about that. Barbara doesn't have the same reserve.

'Come on, Winnie, I won't assume anything about you if you admit this guy's big.'

'OK. Let's say he is, so what?'

'Biggest numbers of the lot. My guess: length and diameter in action.'

'Barb, why are you grinning?

'Because I like that woman so much! She's pushing all the boundaries. No taboo. She's great!'

'She treats these men like pieces of meat, assessing them as if they were…race horses.'

'Exactly! Just the way all blokes assess a girl's features.'

'Not all blokes!'

I had to protest, see, I fancy myself a gentleman when it comes to women.

'OK, not you. Stop sulking and put another DVD in the player.'

'I'm not sulking!' I retorted which made me sound horribly like a sulking brat.

Barbara burst in laughter. I wondered if she treated Lynley that irreverently. Yup. Probably did.

I pulled a DVD from the cardboard box and had a look at the case. Barbara enquired:

'So? If I'm right, how's the bloke going to be?'

'He's nothing to envy the last one.'

'Oh? Another boring one?'

'It's a five-star DVD.'

'Blimey! Size and technique. Can't wait to see that. If only we had pop-corn.'

When the film started, we realized we weren't in the same bedroom as for the other videos. This one was much classier with furniture made of precious woods, fine curtains on the windows, paintings on the wall, a huge bouquet of flowers on the dressing table. It looked at the same time more grandiose and more intimate. Whoever the man was, he was visibly special to Fran.

And then she appeared, completely naked.

At this time of the day I'd seen her having sex with five men but it was as if I was seeing her for the first time. She was stunning, mind-blowing. I was captivated. I watched her move in the bedroom, opening the bed, lighting some candles. I watched the shadows play on her body, drawing landscapes on her breasts, her belly, her hips. I wiggled in my chair. My jeans were becoming uncomfortably too tight and I didn't want Barbara to notice. Then the man entered the room. My jaw dropped. It was Lynley.

'I don't want to see that!' Barbara jumped out of her seat and lit the room. On the screen Fran was helping Lynley out of his clothes.

'We know it's Lynley, no need for a photo!' Barbara went on, almost shouting now.

'We identified him all right, but we need to know if they parted good friends.'

'What do you think?' she screamed at me, gesturing at the screen where Fran was, er, with her, er, on Lynley's...Oh God! I'd die on the spot if a woman did this to me.

'I don't want to see that!' Barbara repeated, and she left the room, slamming the door shut behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: End of this story. Thank you for the nice reviews so far. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too.

* * *

Fran and Lynley had a great time together, taking active and passive roles in turn. Let's just say it was wild, passionate and lasted forever. I've always considered Lynley as my mentor and this time too he showed me some techniques I'm not going to forget anytime soon, but, honestly, I felt a bit like a peeping-Tom, watching them make love. I didn't have the heart to hear Fran rave about Lynley's performance and I needed some cold water so I left the room, locking it behind me and headed for the Gents. There, as I splashed cold water on my face, I realized that there may be several videos of Fran and Lynley. She'd said she met some men several times and I reckoned she'd wanted to see him more than once. I needed to talk to Lynley if he had arrived. On my way to his office I past the incident room where the team - _my_ team - was working. I heard some voices and a bit of unrest. I entered. At the other end of the room, Lynley was there, his face white with rage. Facing him, Fran was trying to explain something but he kept shaking his head negatively. Whatever she was saying, he wasn't buying it. Ardery was there too, acting as a mediator.

'Enjoyed your video?' Barbara hissed at me.

She was standing by the door, arms crossed, an evil look in her eye.

'What's going on?'

'The other team had another video of Lynley in its lot. Word has spread around the building like fire along with some screen shots. The inspector's not happy about that.'

'I wouldn't be either.'

'May I remind you you're in charge?'

She was right. This was my team, my responsibility and I had failed one of the men I respected the most. I had to talk to him, now. I went to the little group.

'I work here for God's sake!'

I'd never seen Lynley in such a rage. If Fran had been a man I'm sure he'll have punched her. On the other hand, had she been a man, Lynley wouldn't be in such a state, would he? The videos wouldn't exist, and all that mess would have never happened.

'What did you think asking the Yard for help!'

'Someone's killing my lovers, Tommy. This is serious.'

'So is my career!'

'I'm talking about murders, Tommy, it's more important than your career. Besides you're a potential victim, you need protection.'

Fran gently touched his arm but he rejected her hand.

'I don't want protection!'

'You've no reason to be in such as state, darling Tommy. Everyone here understand.'

'Everyone here! Just how many people saw those bloody videos?'

'We made two teams of two police officers,' I explained.

'Winston?'

Lynley watched me with worried eyes.

'You saw...'

'Yes,' I replied simply. I didn't have the heart to add: 'so as Barbara.'

I saw the emotions passed on his face very quickly: shock, sadness, worry, rage. I had always admired how Lynley could control his emotions and keep his cool under all circumstances. But every man has his limits and we had reached Lynley's. He lashed out at Fran.

'These are my friends! My colleagues! The people I work with every day! I need them to respect me! I need them to trust me! I need them to be sufficiently at ease with me to do their job as I want it to be done! How can I have that now? How can I ask them to respect me now they've seen me with my pants down? How can I ever work again with a female officer without her thinking I'm a pervert?'

'You're no pervert!' Fran cried out. 'You're kind and generous. I think the videos speak for themselves.'

'Don't you see the videos _are_ the problem? You had no right, Fran, no right, to film us without telling me!'

'You didn't know?' I asked Lynley in bewilderment. 'He didn't know?' this time to Fran.

'None of them knew,' she sighed. 'The videos were never meant to be shared.'

'You didn't ask him if you could film?' I asked again. I couldn't take in the enormity of what I was hearing. 'Why?'

'Because she knew I would say no,' Lynley answered icily. 'And rightly so if this is any indication.'

'There's nothing on those videos you should be ashamed of, Tommy. They show two consenting adults making love, that's all. I don't think this will change your relationship with your colleagues.'

'Really? What about we ask them what they think of me now?!' he gestured at the people in the room. 'Mitchell, would you work with me? No? And you, Pritchard? Come on, Anna, we worked on that case together, remember? We spent long hours in my office, and in the car, just the two of us. Would you do that again?'

Both officers bowed their heads, avoiding Lynley's eyes. I felt like crying. This was unfair.

'I'll always be there for you.'

A female voice, trembling with emotion.

'Barbara?'

I saw the colours leave Lynley's face. Visibly, all at his anger, he hadn't realized she was in the room.

'Did you…?' he left the end of his question hang as if he dreaded the answer so much he didn't dare ask.

'Just the beginning, only the starters.'

Lynley went to her. He touched her elbow and said softly:

'I'm so sorry you saw this, Barbara. I swear I never cheated on…'

'I know,' she cut him.

'Barbara,' he insisted but she refused to listen.

'No, you don't understand. You don't need to say anything. I trust you. I wished I had never seen that film and I don't want to talk about it anymore.'

'I'm so sorry. It meant nothing, absolutely nothing. Fran and I…we've known each other for years and…it happened…but it meant nothing and, now, I'm terrified it'll change everything between us.'

'Don't be stupid. I know you're not a saint and you have no taste for platonic love. It doesn't change anything. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not leaving you.'

Lynley cupped Barbara's face in his hands and gently stroked her cheeks with his thumbs.

'You're my rock, Barbara.'

I had the feeling everyone in the room had stopped breathing, me included. Barb sensed this too:

'Everyone is watching us, Sir.'

Reluctantly he let her go. Immediately we all turned to the Superintendent. She spoke in a loud voice so that everybody could hear her:

'I think it's been perfectly established that DI Lynley has been misled into thinking his meetings with Lady Frances would stay strictly private. Tommy, you have nothing to blame yourself for and I don't think this should have a negative impact on your career.'

'Thank you, guv. I wish everyone sees this your way.'

'I'll do my best to convince Hillier et al., Tommy. You're one of the best officers of the CID, I don't want to lose you. However, you'll understand that, for the duration of this investigation, I have to relieve you of your duties. You're a witness, possibly a target for...'

She stopped as she realized Lynley wasn't listening to her. He was talking with Barbara sotto voce and the discussion looked a bit animated. Finally, they seemed to reach an agreement. Lynley put his arm around Barbara's shoulders and turned to us.

'Guv', if it's not too much to ask, and as it seems my private life should be on display today and its most intimate components discussed by senior officers, would you mind informing the big cheeses that I am currently involved in a very inappropriate but delicious relationship with a subordinate officer, namely DS Barbara Havers, whom I fully intend to marry once she comes round to my opinion her social class doesn't matter.'

'Which has just happened,' Barbara added.

'Really?'

'Yeah.'

'I'm delighted to hear that, darling.'

'The pleasure's mine.'

'Would Saturday this week be too soon for the wedding?'

'Er…Today's Wednesday...I can take a few days off…Nope, Saturday's fine.'

'Saturday it is, then.'

'Wait, wait, wait...' I said, just to gain time. Things were going way too fast for me.

'Winston, I'm confident you'll sort this out. If you need to talk to me, I'll be at home with my beloved fiancée,' Lynley said and, before I could organize my thoughts, they left the room.

'Which home?' I shouted, running after them in the corridor.

They replied at the same time: 'Howenstow!', 'London!' and burst out laughing.

I let you imagine how the people in the incident room reacted. We all knew Lynley and Havers went on well but not _that_ well. That was unexpected, unbelievable. I reckon Lynley broke a few hearts that day. Ardery wasn't a happy bunny, she's no fan of Barbara, see. As for me, I was a bit hurt they had not told me they were together. And frankly, I found the thought of Lynley doing to Barb what I had seen him do in the video quite disturbing. She's a bit like my big sis. No, the only one who seemed to enjoy the situation was Fran. To tell the truth she looked downright happy.

'I'm glad, Tommy's getting married again,' she said. 'He needs a woman by his side and Barbara seems to be just the one for him.'

'Aren't' you sad to lose him?' I asked.

'No, I'm happy for him. He needs much more than I could offer him. Besides, I've the feeling I may only be swapping one for another,' and she winked at me in the most charming indecent way.

 **EPILOGUE**

Tommy and Barbara got married that very week and immediately left for their honeymoon (which was certainly well spent as Barb came back pregnant with their first child). Tommy was reinstated in his job but he wasn't allowed to work with his wife. That was mean of Hillier but it couldn't be helped. Not that I complain, I got to work with Barb.

We solved Fran's case rapidly. It turned out her three lovers had been murdered by a guy besotted with her whom she had turned down.

And, basically, that's all.

Oh, sure, I could tell you more, give you more details about the investigation, how we identified the murderer, how we stopped him just in time to prevent a fourth murder and so on and so forth, but I'm running late and Fran doesn't like to be kept waiting.


End file.
